Law and Gender Commons^™

Rabenmutter And The Glass Ceiling: An Analysis Of Role Conflict Experienced By Women Lawyers In Germany As Compared With Women Lawyers In The United States, Jacquelyn H. Slotkin

Jacquelyn H. Slotkin

The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare women lawyers in Germany with women lawyers in the United States: their legal education, gender proportion in the legal profession, work opportunities, satisfaction with professional choices, and role conflicts. 22 Part I of this article will describe Germany's legal education and compare it with U.S. legal education. Part II will review the literature and issues relevant to German women lawyers as compared with U.S. women lawyers and will summarize and analyze how societal attitudes have affected women's choices in Germany and in the United States. Part III will compare demographic …

Definitions, Religion, And Free Exercise Guarantees, Mark Strasser

Mark Strasser

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the free exercise of religion. Non-religious practices do not receive those same protections, which makes the ability to distinguish between religious and non-religious practices important. Regrettably, members of the Court have been unable to agree about how to distinguish the religious from the non-religious—sometimes, the implicit criteria focus on the sincerity of the beliefs, sometimes the strength of the beliefs or the role that they play in an individual’s life, and sometimes the kind of beliefs. In short, the Court has virtually guaranteed an incoherent jurisprudence by sending contradictory signals with …

Eliminating Undue Burdens To Women's Health: Reproductive Justice Under A “Contexual Intent” Standard, Katie L. Filous

Katie L. Filous

By examining Jackson Women’s Health Organization, et. al. v. Mary Currier, et. al., this article will advocate for the position that the Supreme Court should utilize a “contextual intent” standard in reproductive justice cases in which “undue burdens” and “substantial obstacles” are being evaluated. Part I of the article will discuss the shift from reproductive “rights” to reproductive “justice” by discussing various state legislatures’ attempts at restricting abortion in conjunction with Ian Haney Lopez’s “contextual intent” theory. Part II will discuss the historical roots of varying analyses of reproductive justice cases, from public health and safety to fetal viability to …

Sentencing Pregnant Drug Addicts: Why The Child Endangerment Enhancement Is Not Appropriate, Monica Carusello

Monica B Carusello

No abstract provided.

Does The Right To Elective Abortion Include The Right To Ensure The Death Of The Fetus?, Stephen G. Gilles

Stephen G Gilles

Is the right to an elective abortion limited to terminating the woman’s pregnancy, or does it also include the right to ensure the death of the fetus? Important as this question is in principle, in today’s world the conduct that would squarely raise it cannot occur in practice. The right to elective abortion applies only to fetuses that are not viable, which by definition means that they have been determined to have no realistic chance of surviving outside the uterus. Even if abortion providers used fetus-sparing methods rather than the fetus-killing methods they currently prefer, pre-viable fetuses would die within …

Women, Pmscs And International Law, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

It is deeply ironic that as the implementation and enforcement of international humanitarian law and human rights law has been strengthened, in the last decades, through the establishment of individual complaint procedures, specialist tribunal and courts covering breaches of human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law, there has been an erosion of these principles and protections through the privatisation of governmental and intergovernmental functions. Despite an exponential increase in the contracting out of these activities to PMSCs since 2001, the legal regulation of these companies and their personnel has been slow and fragmented.

The failure of the …

The Affordable Care Act: A “Preventative-Focused” Healthcare Regime To Improve Reproductive Cancer Outcomes Among Women Of Lower Socio-Economic Status, Rachele M. Hendricks

Rachele M Hendricks-Sturrup

No abstract provided.

Women And Justice For The Poor: A History Of Legal Aid, 1863–1945, Felice Batlan

Felice J Batlan

No abstract provided.

Why Rape Should Not (Always) Be A Crime, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

Pregnancy As A ‘Personal Circumstance’? A Case Study Of Equality Jurisprudence Under The Canadian Charter Of Rights, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This article examines the recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Miceli-Riggins v Attorney General of Canada as an example of the approach which the Canadian courts are taking to the interpretation of s. 15 of the Charter of Rights (in the area of social benefits) following the Supreme Court’s recent attempts to ‘restate’ that law in a series of cases. It argued that, whatever the intention of the Supreme Court, the restatement of the law has created general confusion in the lower courts and tribunals. In addition, in cases concerning social benefits, the Court’s statements, in cases …

Loyalty's Reward — A Felony Conviction: Recent Prosecutions Of High-Status Female Offenders, Michelle S. Jacobs

Michelle S Jacobs

Between 2001 and 2004, six high-status women were charged with crimes in connection with corporate criminal cases. The public is familiar with some of them, although not all of their cases have been covered equally in the press. With the exception of an occasional article now and then mentioning the exploding rates of female incarceration, women's crime tends to be invisible to the public eye. The statistical data the government collects and analyzes on women and crime will be discussed. This article will focus on the prosecution of the individual cases of Lea Fastow, Betty Vinson, and Martha Stewart. Their …

The Crisis Of Child Custody: A History Of The Birth Of Family Law In England, Danaya Wright

Danaya C. Wright

This article attempts to show that the inter-spousal custody cases of the nineteenth century created such a crisis in equity that they eventually demanded a new court structure and a new set of legal doctrines. The custody cases posed such a profound threat to the stability and authority of the Chancery courts that within fifty years an entirely new court system was required. That court system combined the tripartite jurisdictions of the law, equity, and ecclesiastical courts in matrimonial matters. While many scholars and historians have applauded that moment, I would suggest that the new court was merely a way …

"Well-Behaved Women Don't Make History": Rethinking English Family, Law, And History, Danaya C. Wright

Danaya C. Wright

In 1857 Parliament finally succumbed to public and political pressure and passed a bill creating a domestic relations court: the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. This new court for the first time in common-law history, combined the following jurisdictions: the ecclesiastical court's jurisdiction over marital validity and separation; the Chancery court's jurisdiction over child custody and equitable estates; the common-law court's jurisdiction over property; and Parliament's jurisdiction over divorce and marital settlements. Wives were given the legal right to seek a divorce or judicial separation in a court of law, receive custody of the children of the marriage, and …

The Legacy Of Colonialism: Law And Women's Rights In India, Varsha Chitnis, Danaya C. Wright

Danaya C. Wright

The relationship between nineteenth century England and colonial India was complex in terms of negotiating the different constituencies that claimed an interest in the economic and moral development of the colonies. After India became subject to the sovereignty of the English Monarchy in 1858, its future became indelibly linked with that of England's, yet India's own unique history and culture meant that many of the reforms the colonialists set out to undertake worked out differently than they anticipated. In particular, the colonial ambition of civilizing the barbaric native Indian male underlay many of the legal reforms attempted in the nearly …

Unbending Gender: Why Family And Work Conflict And What To Do About It (Panel Two: Who's Minding The Baby?), Nancy Dowd, Adrienne Davis, Marion Crain, Bonnie Dill, Catherine Ross, Joan Williams

Nancy Dowd

A central characteristic of our current gender arrangements is that they pit ideal worker women against marginalized caregiver women in a series of patterned conflicts I call gender wars. One version of these are the mommy wars that we see often covered in the press between employed mothers and mothers at home. Employed mothers at times participate in the belittlement commonly felt by homemakers. Also mothers at home, I think, at times participate in the guilt-tripping that's often felt by mothers who are employed. These gender wars are a central but little understood characteristic of the gender system that grew …

Widening Our Lens: Incorporating Essential Perspectives In The Fight Against Human Trafficking, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

In 2000, the international community formally launched the modern movement to combat human trafficking with the United Nations' adoption of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Trafficking Protocol). With the Trafficking Protocol, the international community created a new cornerstone upon which to build a global initiative to combat this modem form of slavery. As the first major international treaty on human trafficking in half a century, the Trafficking Protocol represented a significant step forward. One hundred forty-seven countries are now party to the …

The Ideological Effects Of Actuarial Practices, Jonathan Simon

Jonathan S Simon

Over the last century, there has been significant growth of practices that distribute costs and benefits to individuals based on statistical knowledge about the population. These actuarial practices, like insurance premium setting and standardized testing in educational admissions, are successful largely because they allow power to be exercised more effectively and at lower political cost. At the same time, they generate ideological effects that have the potential to transform the way individuals understand themselves and their groups. In a 1978 case, 'City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power' v. 'Manhart,' the Supreme Court considered a challenge to the …

Feminism Versus Multiculturalism, Leti Volpp

Leti Volpp

No abstract provided.

(Dis)Assembling Rights Of Women Workers Along The Global Assembly Line: Human Rights And The Garment Industry, Laura Ho, Catherine Powell, Leti Volpp

Leti Volpp

The article examines the challenges garment workers in the U.S. face in asserting their rights in the global economy and investigates how transnational advocacy can be deployed to compensate for the inability of U.S. labor laws to respond to problems with international dimensions. Using a purely domestic U.S. legal framework, advocates can attack the problem of transnational corporations subcontracting in the U.S. Such efforts, however, will have limited effect because of the global nature of the garment industry. Most efforts to change the structure of the garment industry have occurred within the limitations of U.S. law, even while there has …

A Due Process Compliant Pathway To Restore Constitutional Fetal Personhood And To Reverse Roe V Wade, Philip A. Rafferty Par

philip a rafferty par

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Polyamorous Marriage: Lessons From The Marriage Equality Struggle, Hadar Aviram, Gwendolyn Manriquez Leachman

Hadar Aviram

Amidst the recent legal victories and growing public support for same-sex marriage, numerous polyamorous individuals have expressed interest in pursuing legal recognition for marriages between more than two consenting adults. This Article explores the possibilities that exist for such a polyamorous marriage equality campaign, in light of the theoretical literature on law and social movements, as well as our own original and secondary research on polyamorous and LGBT communities. Among other issues, we examine the prospect of prioritizing the marriage struggle over other forms of nonmarital relationship recognition; pragmatic regulative challenges, like taxation, healthcare, and immigration; and how law and …

Female Genital Mutilation And Designer Vaginas In Britain: Crafting An Effective Legal And Policy Framework, Lisa Avalos

Lisa Avalos

The prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Britain and Europe has grown in recent years as a result of international migration, and European institutions have grown increasingly concerned with eradicating the practice. According to the European Parliament, approximately 500,000 girls and women living in Europe have undergone FGM and are suffering with the lifelong consequences of the procedure, and more than 30,000 girls in Britain are thought to be at risk of future FGM. Although Britain strengthened its law against FGM in 2003, the number of girls at risk continues to grow, and there have been no convictions for …

The Law And Economics Of Microfinance, Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Financial inclusion may be jargon which appeals to international donors and academics, but the strategic implementation in developing countries is often based on international du jour priorities, such as microfinance. The topic of microfinance is highly debated in the academic literature, although little empirical work has been published. Further, no literature to date has considered microfinance from a law and economics perspective. This paper seeks to contribute to the gap in the literature by considering how microfinance has evolved to address the credit market failure, and how microfinance regulation should be designed to promote long term financial inclusion via financially …

Teaching The Biological Clock: Age-Related Fertility Decline And Sex Education, Kerry Macintosh

Kerry L Macintosh

Fertility in women declines significantly at age thirty-two and takes a sharp downward turn at age thirty-seven. Miscarriages also increase with age. In vitro fertilization cannot reverse the effects of aging, and embryo screening, egg freezing, and egg donation are imperfect solutions.

Unfortunately, many women fail to grasp these facts until it is too late. Various factors are to blame, including physicians who shy away from the topic of age-related fertility decline, persistent messaging about the need for pregnancy prevention (implying that conception is easy), and media accounts of celebrities who are pregnant in their forties.

This Article argues that …

What Impact The Supreme Court’S Recent Hobby Lobby Decision Might Have For Lgbt Civil Rights?, Vincent Samar

Vincent J. Samar

Abstract

What Impact the Supreme Court’s Recent Hobby Lobby

Decision Might Have for LGBT Civil Rights?

Vincent J. Samar

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Hobby Lobby case has created shockwaves of concern among civil rights groups questioning whether for-profit corporations can assert a religious exemption from civil rights legislation under a 1993 federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The matter is of particular concern in the LGBT community given the possible impact it could have on services traditionally offered to those getting married as more and more states legalize same-sex marriage. Though the Court’s conservative majority …

Marriage Penalty: How Stacking Income Affects The Secondary Earner’S Decision To Work, Kevin M. Walsh

Kevin M Walsh

Our progressive tax rate structure is aimed at taxing citizens fairly and based on their ability to pay. The rate structure, however, partially loses its purpose when analyzing the income taxation of married individuals. If a married couple decides to file jointly they are sometimes taxed at higher rates than individuals are depending on the incomes of the couple. This has created what we know today as the “marriage penalty,” and it can serve as a deterrent to the secondary earner from working.

There is no simple solution to address how the marriage penalty, in combination with necessary expenses, affects …

"That Gear Stick Is Not Your Husband's P----." Why The Dissent In Vance V. Ball State University Got It Right, And A Comparison Of The Law Of Employer Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment In The United States And South Africa, Justin A. Behravesh

Justin A. Behravesh

This article provides unique critical analysis of the United States Supreme Court's June 2013 decision of Vance v. Ball State University, by comparing that decision to recent South African common law and statutory developments. I argue that Vance's redefinition of what constitutes a "supervisor" for purposes of vicarious liability will have devastating effect on working women in the United States. Ultimately using South African law as a model framework, I conclude that the factors that should trigger vicarious liability should be based on policy concerns, not arbitrary definitions of what constitutes a "supervisor."

Corporate Boardroom Diversity: Why Are We Still Talking About This?, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

What exactly is board diversity and why does it matter? How does diversity fit in an attempt to build the best board for any organization? What attributes and skills are required by law and what mix of experiences and talents provide the best corporate governance? Even though most companies say they are looking for diversity, why has there been such little progress? Are required director attributes, which are a must for all boards, consistent with future diversity gains and aligned with achieving high performance and optimal board composition? My goal is to provide answers to these questions, and to discuss …

Human Rights, Women, And Third World Development, Winston E. Langley

Winston E. Langley

As part of the effort to inaugurate a new international socio-political order after World War II, international emphasis was given to certain moral and legal entitlements we have come to call human rights. That emphasis initially found its most forceful expression in the Charter of the United Nations, which not only asserts its members' faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, as well as in the equal rights of men and women of all nations, but also recites its members' commitment to employ international machinery for the promotion of the social and economic …

"Law And Justice Are Not Always The Same": Creating Community-Based Justice Forums For People Subjected To Intimate Partner Abuse, Leigh S. Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

What constitutes justice in cases involving intimate partner abuse has historically been determined not by the person subjected to abuse, but rather an actor within the legal system—a police officer, a prosecutor, an advocate, or a judge—and those individuals most often define justice in terms of what the legal system has to offer. People subjected to abuse may conceive of justice quite differently, however, in ways that the legal system is not well suited to address. For people subjected to abuse who are interested in punishment, whose goals are congruent with the legal system’s goals of safety and accountability (as …